Page 131 - The Letter By Ann Newhouse

The village doctor, Dr. Lewis confirmed I had a bad tummy bug and ordered plenty of rest and no stress until it had passed. I crawled into bed and stayed there for nearly a week. It was a good excuse to stay away from everyone and get my head together.
Two weeks later we were still trying to get our heads around it all, but we were trying. We tried not to talk about Tony, but we inevitably did. It had been a while since we had made love, in truth I was reluctant it was still a little strange between us. Rex said he understood and was willing to wait for as long as it took.
We invited Penny, Paul and Seki for Christmas. I was kept busy arranging the cottage for the festive season with Rex helping me decorate the 8-foot tree, hanging bells and baubles and placing trinkets in every nook and cranny. I loved the Christmas season and secretively I think Rex did too he seemed to really enjoy shopping for everyone’s presents although he wouldn’t admit it.
I called Sherry for one of our weekly chats that had gotten further and further apart over the last while. I was worried about her Brian was becoming more and more controlling with every call. He was treating her like a child and telling her what to do and when to do it. She never went back to work, her choice she had said but I knew better. She had no money of her own and was dependent on the housekeeping money that he gave her every week. She was a different Sherry not the strong and independent woman I had known. Confiding in me she had once told me she was trying to put aside a little money each week for herself, some running away money I concluded but they were a very influential family she had to be careful.